Doru Teodor Corbeanu

1. WE CAN’T POUR FROM AN EMPTY CUP

I come from a family of athletes. My father was a swimming champion, my uncle was the captain of the rugby team, and my grandfather was a track and field champion. I've been practicing boxing since I was 12-13 years old, therefore, I've been around sports and fitness for over 40 years now. So, I was brought up to love sports. It's in my blood that in order to be able to overcome all of my challenges, to keep my head above water and feel really happy, I have to work out. That’s my gateway to a healthier me. But I also love to go out and have fun. The bottom line is to do both-without affecting one another. I believe that our mindset, habits and entourage are a big part of it. Also, I think that each person has the potential to live a more fulfilling and happy, healthy life, having the best of both worlds. All, while enjoying your life without any cravings! So, I am here to tell you, on this site/blog, how I did it, how I am doing, and how you will be able to do it easily. Have it all with fun and simplicity.

I have already learned so far, that happiness is an inside job. I also know that we can’t pour from an empty cup, so, I always try with consistency to fill it up with good habits. Therefore, in order to be happy and successful, I always test my ability to provide for myself the best of both worlds: comfort and performance.

I think boxing and New York showed me what I really am made of, and how to power-through problems. I learned that every journey starts with a single step, and then, the gimmick to succeed is consistency. So, constantly getting into good habits is the key!

2. SOME QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF 

I had a revelation: in order to be OK with myself, to be (as they say in recent years) "a better version of myself" and to be able to achieve any goal, I must have the answer to 5 questions. I mean, that is, these questions: 

Am I now, in my comfort zone? 

How far have I come achieving my goals? 

How good have I done? 

Why should I leave my comfort zone to achieve my goal?

 Can I do it better?

 I strongly believe that if you have the answers to absolutely all these questions, you will realize if you are or not, in the comfort zone that you always wanted and if you have reached your goal or not. If you are true to yourself and answer truthfully, you will establish your comfort zone extremely quickly, and you will achieve your goal as simply as I did.

So, long story short, after I worked very hard for decades, I finally fulfilled my dreams. Then, I invested in real estate and the stock market. I felt safe; I thought this was my comfort zone. I started traveling around the world and partying a lot, I’ve had more than my fair share of white nights. So, I started to get out of my former comfort zone; I considered it safe then, and went to find another comfort zone, which I wrongly thought was much better, cooler and more fun. 

By the way, I have to open a parenthesis. Now, I don’t believe anymore in any kind of comfort zone. I think it is just an illusion. I think it is wrongly called the “comfort zone”, because you don't engage in any new experiences, and you don’t face any challenges, so you think, you have the illusion, that you are safe and in total control, risk-free. But, basically, you close the door to your future life, to some of your dreams, to better things, to your personal improvement, missing out on lots of opportunities, and you totally lose the sense of purpose. I think it is boring and unhealthy, if you stay for too long in a so-called “comfort zone”. When I did that I felt like a part of me died, and trust me, it took a long time to come back to real life. We really need to grow and develop, and being stuck in the same routine is not good for our progress.

You can now be in your best comfort zone and later realize that you are not completely happy in this zone, and you think that another one would be more suitable for you, and move on. By expanding your so-called “comfort zone”, you will feel more self-confident, much stronger and healthier! Change is good; it helps you to move forward! We need exciting things and new experiences in our life, we need to change our routine and to be more spontaneous. We really need to step outside any kind of “comfort zone”, in order to reach our full potential and feel the happiest.

Now, getting back to the topic. So, I was traveling, partying, wasting nights, and exaggerating the fun. I got carried away and, foolishly, I spent a lot of money doing so. Even though I continued to work out, I did it much less often (just 1–2 times a week) and I started drinking almost every week, and on top of that, I even started smoking. This, especially when some health problems arose with some family members including my mother. Later, my sadness was compounded when she passed away, after about 3 horrible years of torment and suffering. Suffice to say I was a mess and really beyond broken.

 Then, later, all the huge medical bills from the private hospitals came up, just to add more anxiety.

3. TRY TO GET AHEAD OF YOUR GAME!

Making this site/blog was a difficult process for me at that time. Even though, I always knew in my mind, that at the right moment, I would share all my knowledge and experience in sports and fitness field, on a website as kind of a closure. This was my eternal goal and I knew it had to be fulfilled. I always stick to my goals. 

 I realized, unfortunately not quick enough, that in fact, alcohol, smoking and this kind of lifestyle do not help neither me or those around me, on the contrary. They really caused me real damage, especially the next day. Generally speaking, most days I felt that I was much more tired, with a stiffer, more cloudymind, unable to make quick and clear decisions. Also, I had no energy and I had no desire for life. I felt sluggish - in a word, I felt horrible. I realized that I needed to return as soon as possible to my real so-called “comfort zone”, a zone with a healthy mind in a healthy body, where I could successfully face all the challenges that I had in front of me. 

I kind of reached this point where I really want to feel better and to feel that I'm moving forward, not that I'm getting stuck. So, I tried to concentrate on this reachable goal. 

 I quickly needed a boost of energy, of oxygen, a refresher. I really needed to reduce my stress, to improve my mood, my healthy routine and get back on track. Practically, I really needed to help my whole body to get back in shape physically and mentally. I knew that working out always helped me to revitalize my whole state of mind. So, it was time to refocus and reset!

I realized that I had moved away from the basics, from my childhood love of sports and working out. So, I remembered that I am a fighter even though I hung up my gloves. Therefore, step by step, I got back to my healthy habits. I started to avoid all previous triggers. I started to work out again almost every day. I started to regulate my meals and my sleeping times, to select my food more carefully. Also, I carefully select even the people around me, in such a way as that they do not distract me from my healthy, well-being state of mind. A frame of mind in which, I think that myself and anybody else, can make appropriate decisions quickly, stress-free, and achieve the full potential. So, always try to get ahead of your game!

As soon as I started working out regularly, and eating smart, I haven't had any headaches or brain fog. I no longer felt stress and I feel much more relaxed and happier. It’s a refresher! I also had loads of energy and felt like I could take any challenge and I could do everything I wanted! It's a great feeling, believe me!

I constantly postponed the start of the site (even though I discovered that I really like to write) because I wanted to do it super well and dedicate all my time only to this goal. But the maximum demand and stress about my personal life, my family and my business problems became a barrier against an older desire of mine: that of sharing all my sports knowledge with everyone possible and passing along all the important information I have learned by this time. I constantly unwisely postponed the start of building the website, even though I always wrote down my ideas and followed daily everything related to sports, fitness and nutrition.

Working out, having a healthy diet and enough sleep, in short, a healthy lifestyle, has always been for me like a refresher. This kind of healthy booster, always saved my life, and put me back on track. Without this refresher, I think l would be a completely different guy on a different wrong path. Sometimes we all need to press the reset button. 

I realized that daily habits and people around us, can greatly affect our progress, for better or for worse. I think it’s extremely important to choose to associate or hang out only with those who go in the same direction as us. I realized that I have a clear goal that I am not fulfilling. I got stuck because I got carried away by my bad habits and the poor choices as far as the world surrounding me. I always wanted and always liked to move forward. I don't like it when I feel stuck. I think no one does. Everything depended on me to achieve this goal; it was no one's fault that I was not moving in the direction of my goal. All the choices were made by me, so it was clearly my mistake and I assumed responsibility for. So, I started the change - change is always good and welcomed. 

4. KEEP GOING FORWARD-FEARLESSLY TOWARDS YOUR GOAL!

Therefore, I learned my lesson. Usually I am very critical of myself, so I did reset my priorities and sat deadlines. I mean, I started to take steps towards my goal. I prioritized my time, I distanced myself from anything and anyone who occupied my time unnecessarily and distracted me from my main objective. Also, I organized myself and sat daily goals, focusing in a consistent way, only on completing this site.

So, now, in 2025, after so many years, I AM MAKING A COMEBACK, BUT NOT IN THE RING, HERE, ON LINE, even though I am totally confused by social media :)

I hope with all my heart that you like this site because I put a lot of work into it and it means a lot to me!

I wanted this comeback because I also felt obliged, indebted to myself, to my family, to my friends, to all those around me and to all exercise and sports lovers. I did it with a lot of passion and with no fitness gimmicks. I did it with all my heart. I wanted to leave something behind me, as kind of a conclusion, a closure, to summarize everything I've done and learned all this time until now.

I write all this with the desire and hope to inspire others. There are probably many of you who have gone through this kind of roller-coaster situation and need balance. 

Like I said in the beginning, you can work out and enjoy going out and having fun at the same time, just by keeping the balance, without making excesses in any direction. Have it all, while enjoying your life, without any cravings, with a lot of fun and simplicity. So, you will have the best of both worlds: comfort and performance, but only if you have the right mindset, the right habits and the right entourage.

For me, sport is the best balance and the workout always helps me to be ready, mentally and physically for whatever comes my way. For me working out is a quick fix. It is the magic pill that has always solved any problem. So, extreme results in a short time! For all those who found themselves in the situations described, I want to show that anyone can overcome absolutely any challenge easily, like I did. We just have to find this balance - that is, to have a healthy lifestyle and a suitable environment. So, live a more fulfilling and purpose-driven life!

So, finally, I would just like to point out, to emphasize, what helped me, to become the best version of myself and always helps me to overcome any challenge that comes my way. 

My thoughts are only suggestions,

recommendations of course, based on my own experiences. So, try to exercise a lot, to train smart, not hard. Do any kind of sports and make it a habit to work out just by keeping it simple, like brushing your teeth. Therefore, it becomes a part of who you are and part of your lifestyle without sacrificing your pleasures. You have to have the courage to make the change you keep thinking about. Don't procrastinate and follow your goal! 

Go forward without fear and don't deviate from the road as I foolishly did at one point. Be persistent, regardless of the obstacles that inherently appear to you, and trust yourself that you will soon reach your goal. So, believe me, it's much simpler than you think. Just take the first step! It really depends only on you when you decide to take the first step. But if you are now reading this article, you already consider that you have taken the first step. Thus, keep going forward - fearlessly towards your goal! Be your own game changer!